Store-Bought Bones
by fauxtr0t
Summary: Now, I've had the saints and patience - I have pills for this, tabs for that, and something that used to resemble the soul - so won't anybody take my hand, won't anybody ease my ache, and will somebody please carry me home? JeanSasha. AU. Incomplete. Trigger warnings listed inside.
1. Once Upon a Time

**Title**: Store-Bought Bones

**Summary**:

Now, I've had the saints and patience - I have pills for this, tabs for that, and something that used to resemble the soul - so won't anybody take my hand, won't anybody ease my ache, and will somebody please carry me home? JeanSasha. AU. Incomplete. Trigger warnings listed inside.

**Rating**: M

Thank-you so much tumblr user SashKirstein for the prompt! I hope I lived up to your expectations! I'm so sorry this took me so long to write – I hope I did the prompt justice, I really enjoyed writing this.

**Warning**: This is rated M primarily due to several trigger warnings, such as:

-Slight mention of [Sexual] Assault

-Passing mention of Rape

as well as extremely explicit language (primarily because Jean is a potty mouth). If you are uncomfortable with any of these things, please do not read the story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any part of Shingeki no Kyojin or its characters – I just make 'em do the occasional naughty, fluffy things. I also do not own any of the songs and lyrics used in the title, the summary, or the content of the chapters. They belong to their respective musicians - "Store-Bought Bones" is a song by The Raconteurs, and the lyrics in the summary are from the song "Stay Vicious" by The Gaslight Anthem.

x

"_As you step out into the city, _  
_no one to find you or recognize,_  
_as your black heels kick at the beat _  
_of my heart in perfect time._

_Singing, 'look at you saving my life.'_  
_Singing, 'tonight you're saving my life._'"

Stay Vicious, The Gaslight Anthem

x

This summer was going to be a fucking scorcher, Jean Kirschtein mused as he flicked the lit butt of his cigarette into one of the many dingy puddles littering the city's sidewalk. It was a weak, late spring night, and the crescent moon hung low, curled around the remaining tufts of clouds. The humidity had already begun to hang thick in the air, dragging everything down in the most unpleasant way possible. While a sweet breeze blew through every now and again, Jean knew it was still too hot for him to be walking around right now, and it definitely was too hot for him to be wearing this heavy fucking jacket…but to be honest, Jean Kirschtein didn't really give a shit.

Plus, it made him look so bad-ass. Everyone knows not to mess with a guy in a leather jacket, especially one with as many details and patches as Jean's – he probably spent more time stitching shit on this jacket than he did anything else.

A car puttered by, the only car Jean had seen in the past forty minutes or so. It was odd – the streets were curiously lonely tonight for one reason or the other . Sure, it was hot and muggy, but it was a Saturday night, and this was a pretty active city. During the week Jean found himself taking strolls along the busier areas as they were usually quite empty come midnight, but he had the tendency to avoid them on the weekends. The last thing he ever wanted to deal with were obnoxious teenagers on dates or cops following him around as if he was going to snatch some ladies purse. Sure, he had his few run-ins with the law – what troubled youth didn't these days? Luckily, back then he had been rather young, not to mention was wearing the passing of his mother on his shoulders, and shit, he really hadn't gotten into any fights in the past few months so why the fuck they gotta judge him so harshly?

It was probably his stupid two-toned hair, come to think of it. Fucking Marco told him it didn't look so bad, but then again, what had he known? Fuck lot of nothing.

Sighing, Jean drew another cigarette from his pack and cupped one hand around it as he lit it with the other, hiding the flame from the wind. Slipping his Zippo back into his back pocket, the young man took a long drag and felt the spicy smoke fill up his lungs before he exhaled. _Ahh_.

Fucking Marco. That kid was long gone now as well, come to think of it. How long had it been? Running on one and a half years, right? Jesus. That really hadn't been the most pleasant experience, but at least Jean hadn't –

A shrill noise pierced through the night, silencing the white noise and ongoing monologue Jean had accumulated during his walk. Had that been…a scream? Jean paused for a moment, straining to hear if there was going to be another noise…but nothing. Hmm. Taking another drag on his cigarette, Jean continued walking, street lamps still flickering as he trudged through more puddles until he heard yet another loud trilling – that was definitely a scream, and it definitely sounded much closer than before. It really wasn't any of Jean's business to be honest – probably just a couple having some really good sex or something weird like that. People were fucking strange during these later witching hours – hell, Jean had seen some pretty interesting things during his walks, it wasn't his position to judge but he really couldn't help it.

Another scream.

"Please, please don't – please, I don't have any money, I swear!" the voice was obviously female, and was obviously panicked – and exceptionally close. Shit. Ahh, _fuck_. Jean picked up his pace, partially out of pure intrigue, partially because, fuck, he was a punk but he wasn't a punk ass bitch and wouldn't be able to sleep right if he just let –

Another scream, and an obviously hushed male voice accompanied it.

"Listen, if you don't shut your pretty fucking face I'm going to have to do something about it."

Jean quickened his pace until he was almost running, nearly missing the alley way altogether and only stopped when he heard the poor girl's voice again, calling out against the empty night air.

"SIR! Sir! Oh my god, please, help me!" She called out, and Jean's head flicked to the right, only to come face first into a fist.

"What the FUCK?!" Jean reeled back from the assault, rubbing his shiner generously. "You've gotta be fucking kidding m –"

A swift kick knocked into his torso, and Jean wheezed in agony, another scream from the girl piercing the air.

"Leave him alone! Please, leave him alone!" Her sobs were growing louder and Jean cringed. God, he fucking hated hearing a girl cry. "I can't give you money, but I'll give you anything else you want, just don't hurt him too!"

"I told you," the figure standing above Jean switched his attention to the young girl, "to shut the FUCK up!" Another kick blew into Jean's side.

"Fuck man, he totally saw us, we gotta do something about him," another voice echoed through the alley way.

"Yeah man, we gotta get out of here before more people start to show up – " just how many of these guys were out here?!

"Will you two shut the fuck up? I'm taking care of him, just get that bitch to shut up!" The figure above Jean seemed engrossed in whatever else was occurring just long enough for Jean to regain some of his energy back, reaching into his back pocket and flicking out his knife. Gods, he was bleeding – he was bleeding bad, there was definitely blood coming from somewhere and it was stinging his eye, and he could taste metal on his bottom lip.

"What do we do?" one voice called back.

"Fucking pin her up against the wall – I don't know, shove your dicks into her mouth or something, just get her quiet! We'll get something from her one way or another."

"Ugh, this bitch is so feisty!" they sounded as if they were struggling, and the girl continued to scream out, causing an even bigger stir. Jean looked up and over to the girl – he couldn't get a good look at her face in the dim light, but one of the figures had pressed her up against the alley way's wall, clawing at the buttons of her blouse. You've gotta be fucking kidding me, they weren't really going to…

Another scream and Jean was brought back down to earth. Oh, fuck this.

Jean launched at the figure above him while the thug was distracted, driving his knife directly into the man's thigh, piercing through his clothing and knocking him onto his back with just enough time that Jean could pull his own knife-free fist back and sock that asswipe directly in the nose. Blood spurted out the moment his fist connected with cartilage, and Jean already could tell his other hand that had held the knife was covered as well, but fuck it. Nobody makes a fucking snake move on Jean Kirschtein, and everybody knows only shit fucks messed around with hurting a girl.

Pulling back again, Jean continued his assault on the other man's face as he straddled his chest, fist after fist, until he heard the shuffling of footsteps and saw the other two fuck faces running towards him. With just enough time to react, the young man jumped up and pounced to the man on the left, throwing his entire body weight into him and knocking him back down as well onto the grimy, wet floor. It seemed the one Jean hadn't knocked into was a tad bit more portly and as such was a much slower opponent, leaving Jean with just enough time to jump back to his own feet and rail his foot into the fallen asshole's groin. Repeatedly.

"Didn't anyone teach you cunts," he turned back to the heavyset figure who was slowly backing up and out of the alley way, "not to FUCK," Jean grabbed him by his collar and rolled back his fist with just enough momentum to hit the man square in his jaw, "with girls?!" The thicker thug didn't fall, but he did lose his balance, backing away and falling over the first asshole Jean had driven his knife into. Both men made a noise of disappointment and Jean approached them, ignoring the second man who was still clutching his crotch on the ground behind the young man.

"How does it fucking feel to be fucked over," Jean cocked his foot back, delivering a blow to the first figure's face, "to have your asses kicked by some punk kid?"

Jean heard the scream before he heard that second asshole approaching, and he turned around with just enough time to watch the man's fist connect with his stomach, lurching him back against a wall of metal trash cans, spilling the contents across the alley.

Ugh, there just HAD to be a curveball, didn't there?

"You have no fucking idea who you're messing with, kid," Jean groaned, clutching his stomach as the man continued, "it's best to mind your own business and learn your pl – "

A deafening, booming crack echoed across as the thug stopped mid-sentence, falling forward on top of Jean and revealing another disheveled figure behind him, clutching a circular, metal trash can cover.

Jean blinked, incredulous, watching as the figure then moved over to where the other two men were laying, still dazed, and began lifting up her foot and stomping on them relentlessly.

"You are all very, very, VERY," another stomp, "AWFUL," and another, "PEOPLE!" She cried out.

What the fuck?

"Hey!" Jean called out, but the girl didn't stop. "HEY!" He tried again, shoving the thug off of him so he could get up and walk over to the girl. What the fuck was this? This was his fight! He sure as hell didn't need any fucking girls taking care of him, and he especially didn't need them showing him up!

She still didn't react, until finally Jean gripped her shoulder and spun her around to face him,

"I said, 'HEY!'"

Oh. Oh, fuck. She was really pretty. Like, really, really, really pretty. Jean was at a loss for the words as the girl stared up at him, her honeyed eyes studying the man who had saved her. From his one good eye, Jean could see that her hair must have been in an up-do earlier, because it was now pulled out and the tie was hanging low against the curve of her chin. The ochre street lamps own light illuminated one side of her heart-shaped face, and Jean noted how her tawny brown hair glowed warmly against it.

The young man's heart sped up almost instantly, and the girl looked concerned.

"Are you okay?" Her face softened as she brought her hand up to gingerly pull away a few strands of Jean's hair, dabbing at the sticky blood that had begun to clot just below his hairline.

Jean immediately snatched her wrist, watching as the girl sucked in air.

"Don't touch me." He barked, "I'm fine."

"You d-don't look so fine to me…"

Jean's eyes narrowed.

"You have a very odd way of thanking your saviour, y'know," Jean sucked his teeth, "not everyone would take an ass kicking like that."

The young girl's eyes widened and she pulled away from his grip.

"Thank-you," she responded quietly, casting her eyes downward, "I'm so sorry, I really do owe you. You're right, not everyone would have stopped to help."

Ah, fuck, she wasn't going to cry now was she? Fuck. She had just gotten assaulted…ugh. Marco had always told him he sucked with communicating.

"Look, it's whatever," the young man huffed, grimacing as he realized how much more painful it was becoming to move his face. Fuck, these guys really did a number on him, "where do you live? The least I can do is make sure you get home safe."

She smiled back up at him carefully, wiping the wet from her eyes with the back of her hand.

x

Sasha Braus rarely traveled by herself late at night – she knew better honestly, but that night had been a bit different. The poor girl had originally been out with friends, they always traveled in groups together, but lately Sasha had taken to sneaking away from the group. Again, she knew this wasn't smart, but she just wasn't into the whole 'club scene' any more – and to be honest, she knew if she stayed with her friends they would stay out until the dawn was breaking across the horizon and that just wasn't her style these days. Sasha was, to put it bluntly, sick of being the only friend that had sobered up by two in the morning and had to spend the remainder of her time babysitting everyone – then, to subsequently be ditched for a random guy or a booty call? Count her out. Count her so, so, so far out.

However, it had been when she was walking home from her sneaky little maneuver that Sasha noted she was being followed. One block after another the thugs followed her, and it was only when Sasha broke out into a sprint that they made their real move.

"So, they just attacked you? Just like that?" Jean winced as Sasha began to dab at his cheek with a soaked cotton ball, "Fuck! That fucking stings! You said it wouldn't sting!"

"Ugh, just hold still would ya, you big baby?" Sasha tsked, cleaning the area around Jean's swelling cut. "They followed me for quite a few blocks, I'm sure – I had seen them at the bars. I know it. One of them offered to buy me a drink, but I declined."

They were perched on Sasha's couch in her apartment as the girl tended to Jean's wounds. After he had walked her home, the least she could do was ensure he was taken care of.

Satisfied with her cleaning, Sasha then began to tear apart the band-aids and gauze from their packaging, applying a generous amount of anti-bacterial gel before pressing and applying them against Jean's assorted gashes.

"Thanks, I suppose," Jean gently touched the bandaged areas, still in pain but feeling slightly better, "y'know, for cleaning me up."

"Well, I did owe you," Sasha smiled at him as she packed her first aid kit back away and Jean felt a warmth creep up his face, staining his ears and face a light dusting of pink. The young man prayed it wasn't noticeable against the red of his swollen injuries, the last thing he needed was embarrassing himself further against an attractive girl. Sasha stood up from the couch and walked back over to her kitchen fridge, her silhouette curved out by its bright light as Jean watched her grab a few ice cubes and press them into a plastic bag with a square of folded paper towel. Damn, she actually had a really nice body – curvy, taut…

The girl was back in front of him, her arm reaching across his face, the other steadying herself on his knee, Sasha held the home made ice pack flush against the young man's swollen cheek. Fuck, fuck, fuck. If the ice wasn't so cold and his face in so much pain, Jean's sure that all of his blood would be rushing straight down to…fuck.

"They still hurt something fierce, though." Jean grimaced, hoping that it wasn't obvious that he was completely losing his shit at their proximity. How long had it been since he'd been this close to a girl? Well, scratch that, a girl that actually did something to him – you could fuck around with as many people as you wanted to, stick your tongue down every throat in the city and grind your hips against every groin, but attraction was something that didn't just blossom with every stranger you bought a drink for.

"Aw," Sasha grasped one of his hands and Jean thought he might completely just lose his shit – but instead she pressed his palm up against the ice, instructing him to hold it so that it could help with the swelling, "were you hoping I was going to kiss them better?"

Jean, for once in his whole goddamn life, was at a complete loss for words.

"Uh, I, uhm – " the young man sputtered, Sasha laughing at her own boldness while the Jean sputtered, turning eighty different hues of bright red.

"Well, all you had to do was ask," the girl lifted her chin up, pressing her lips softly against Jean's brow bone, just to the left of one of his cuts. Gently, she removed them and placed them back down against the swell of his cheek, barely brushing them against the tender area.

Removing her lips, Sasha pulled away and stared into Jean's eyes defiantly, and flicked her gaze down to his lips where there was a slight cut running from his bottom lip to the tip of his chin. Ever so lightly, the girl moved and pressed the young man's bottom lip between her own. Just a peck, just a brush, that's all. Nothing more.

Jean lashed out and grabbed her chin, cupping his own hand against her cheek. For a minute Sasha thought he was going to harm her for one quick second, but instead he pulled her back down and kissed her again, just as gently as she had, except he held her face there, tilting his own slightly to deepen the kiss just so.

"Thank-you," he muttered as he pulled away, blushing just as brightly as before, turning away from the girl.

Sasha smiled, standing back up and padding back across her apartment.

"I'll get you a blanket so you can sleep on the couch," Jean was about to protest but the girl spoke again before he could, "just shut up and rest. If you murder me in my sleep, that's my own fault for trusting a stranger so quickly."

Jean smirked to himself, laying back down on the girl's couch and drifting to dreamland before she could come back with the blanket. At least tonight he had a real place to sleep – and these days, that was just as good as anything.

x

**Notes**:

Gah, I hope you all enjoyed! I'm sorry, I realize that there are a lot of plot holes and a lot of OOC instances, but I just really liked the idea of this story. Actually, while it was originally a OneShot I'm highly tempted to expand on it slightly - don't know, I'm always tempted to do that, as I feel if it was a multi-chapter fic I really could build on the character's relationships, especially since I loaded so much information on Jean's past life that I really could bring back later. Hm. Well, we'll see!

Again, thank-you to tumblr user SashKirstein for the prompt! I hope I lived up to your expectations! I know it fizzled a bit but it was a great prompt and I thank-you so much for it!

xx


	2. I Could've Been a Contender

**Title**: Store-Bought Bones

**Summary**:

Now, I've had the saints and patience - I have pills for this, tabs for that, and something that used to resemble the soul - so won't anybody take my hand, won't anybody ease my ache, and will somebody please carry me home? JeanSasha. AU. Incomplete. Trigger warnings listed inside.

**Rating**: M

Woo! Second Chapter! Say it with me – WOOO!

**Warning**: This is rated M primarily due to several trigger warnings, such as:

-Slight mention of [Sexual] Assault

-Passing mention of Rape

as well as extremely explicit language (primarily because Jean is a potty mouth). If you are uncomfortable with any of these things, please do not read the story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any part of Shingeki no Kyojin or its characters – I just make 'em do the occasional naughty, fluffy things. I also do not own any of the songs and lyrics used in the title, the summary, or the content of the chapters. They belong to their respective musicians - "Store-Bought Bones" is a song by The Raconteurs, and the lyrics in the summary are from the song "Stay Vicious" by The Gaslight Anthem.

x

"_Look at what you started –  
I seem to be coming out of my skin.  
And look at what you've forgotten here,  
these bandages don't seem to keep me in."_

American Slang, The Gaslight Anthem

x

"So, what's your story?"

"My…story?" Jean sat up on the couch from his slouched position. Sasha was in front of him, sitting on the edge of her wooden coffee table and sipping a cup of the tea she had brewed earlier that morning. Wincing from his throbbing ribs, the young man settled as comfortably as he could onto the couch's back rest.

"You know," Sasha placed her mug of tea onto the coffee table, liquid sloshing lightly, "like, _your_ story. Where you come from, what your parents did, why you were walking the street alone in the middle of the night, why you didn't cut my throat and ransack my house while I was sleeping…"

"You've got the stupidest imagination, has anyone told you that?" Jean deadpanned while attempting to quirk an eyebrow, only to clutch the swollen knot just above it. Fuck, that _hurt_.

"From time to time, but I feel it's best to ignore impolite commentary." Sasha grinned, folding her legs Indian-style on the table she was still perched on.

"Don't you want to sit on the couch?" Jean remarked, eyeing the young girl's cup of tea. She seemed to be the clumsy type; it was only a matter of time before she knocked her mug over.

"Nah, I prefer the table."

"Oh…kay…" God, she was cute, but she was fucking weird. Who the fuck sits on tables?

Actually, to be honest, Jean's entire experience with this girl had been a giant, massive whirlwind. He had woken up that morning in an absolute cacophony of unrelenting, throbbing pain. Everything hurt – his head, his jaw, his shoulders, his torso…you name it, and even the slightest twitch brought on a monsoon of ache. Sasha had leaned over him, her palm gently stirring him as she shook his shoulder.

"What?" Jean had barked, opening one eye to glare at her as menacingly as he could, "can't you see I'm sleeping?"

Sure, that hadn't been the best way to greet the girl whom had given him a place to sleep, but he wouldn't have been in this much pain if it weren't for her – the best she could have done was left him to rest and pretend he wasn't there. It had originally been Jean's plan, he grumbled, to take his leave before she could even notice he'd woken up – obviously, that wasn't what fate had planned. Fate was such a cock-mongering tease.

"I wanted to give you some tea and aspirin," She leaned over him, and Jean was thankful for her large t-shirt – while he knew she had a bust, the girl was swimming in the shirt's fabric.

After accepting the aspirin, a cup of water, and a mug of tea, _he_ kind of felt like an ass for snapping at her…but only for a moment.

Flash forward to present time – Jean had taken the aspirin but it had yet to kick in, and he was tempted to ask her for another pill, or at the least ask her why she wasn't at work or school or whatever yet. That would be immensely more interesting than whatever she was trying to get him to talk about.

"My story…" Jean repeated softly, "I mean, honestly, there's not much to tell you. I like walking alone at night, especially with some cigarettes…I just like being alone altogether, Jesus, doesn't everyone?" The young man eyed Sasha, and she got his drift.

"Yeah…I suppose so," the girl sighed, picking her cup of tea back up and sipping from the mug's lip, speaking again after she swallowed, "fair enough. So where do you live?"

Jean cocked an eyebrow, the aspirin finally kicking in.

"What?" the girl snapped in response to his gesture, "You obviously know where I live!"

"Well, I didn't exactly get to study my surroundings last night."

"Okay, then what do you do. Do you have a job? Do you have a passion?"

Jean shrugged.

"Oh for god's sake, I'm trying to make conversation here! I want to at least know about the guy who rescued me!" unfolding her legs from underneath her, Sasha stood up abruptly to stomp away until Jean grabbed ahold of her shirt, stalling her legs momentarily.

"Look, 'm sorry, really am – I'm shit with this whole 'human interaction' thing as if you couldn't tell. I really am grateful or whatever for you for letting me stay here and all of that shit, but people aren't exactly my specialty. It was nice to meet you and all that junk and 'm glad you're okay, but I'll be leaving soon." He stared up at her, his eyes locking onto hers. In the soft morning light Jean could see a dusting of light, almost iridescent freckles that littered the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were a pretty, honeyed brown like he remembered, and there were black flakes of mascara rimming her waterlines. Somehow, despite the imperfections, Jean had to note that she looked absolutely…lovely.

Wordlessly, she took her own hand and brushed his bangs back, studying the swollen knot on his brow bone. Jean felt his face flush with the contact, but only for a moment before she moved her fingers away.

"I should put some antibacterial gel on that before the cut gets infected. Let me go get some." Sasha began to walk away, her footsteps padding against the floor.

"What the – is that all you're going to say to that?!"

No answer.

"Argh! Fucking women!"

x

"STOP FUCKING FOLLOWING ME!"

"You just stood up and walked away while I was trying to get some of that antibacterial gel!"

"Because I HAVE PLACES TO BE!"

God, this girl was really getting to him now. Jean had shit to do, and he was feeling much better – well, at least good enough to walk. He didn't wear a watch, but he could tell that he was going to be late and was going to definitely hear a mouthful from –

"Well I'm coming with you!"

"You're hardly dressed to be going where 'm going ya psycho!"

Finally Sasha stopped and looked down, realizing that she was still wearing her large t-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama shorts, with no shoes on her feet. To any other pedestrian, this would almost look comical Jean mused – him in his old leather jacket and denim pants, her in her lounge wear…

"Whatever," the girl shrugged and Jean's face deadpanned.

"'_Whatever'_?!" he repeated, his jaw becoming slack.

Sasha crossed her arms defiantly.

"I'm following you, I'm coming with you, and there's nothing you can say about it."

What the fuck? Were they in elementary school now?

"You can't fuckin' come with me, end of fuckin' story, go back and LEAVE. ME. ALONE."

Even as the words left his lips, Jean realized his anger had gone a bit too far. A beat passed, maybe two, before the girl in front of him, on the sidewalk, began to wilt exponentially, the tears pouring out before Jean could even think to stop them. Fuck, fuck, fuck – he might suck at human interaction, but that was nothing in comparison to a crying girl.

_Jean, you fucking asshat_, he chastised himself inwardly, _she was literally almost sexually assaulted nearly 24 hours ago and you're YELLING at her?!_

"H-hey…" Jean took a step towards her gingerly, "don't cry Sasha, look it's…it's not really…"

The girl began to clutch her face, her shoulders shaking. Jean paused momentarily, but just as he took another step she stopped, straightened her shoulders, and wiped her hands away from her face.

"Whatever, it's fine." Turning around on her heel, the girl marched back in the direction of her place.

Now Jean remembered why he didn't date girls – too many emotions, too many tears, all of that crap. It was tough enough just dealing with his own shit and then to pile someone _else's_ shit on top of it all…just never really worked out as well as he thought it would.

Jean walked ahead until he was in front of Sasha, and stopped the girl with his palms on her shoulders.

"Sasha, I'm sorry, that was really fucked up and I – "

"I'm always alone," she cut him off. "I just…I'm always alone, and it's…nice to have some company. I have friends, but…they're honestly not really friends. Just people I hang around. And they wouldn't have…none of them would have done what you did." Wiping away at her red-rimmed eyes again, Sasha looked up at Jean and locked her eyes with his, "They wouldn't have done that – but you did."

It was such an awkward conversation to be having in public honestly, and Jean didn't know how to approach it, until she flung herself against him and hugged him, encircling her arms around his torso – and subsequently causing him to sharply suck in a large breath of air as she grazed one of his tender spots.

"Oh!" Sasha felt him jerk and pulled away, "oh god, I'm so sorry, I wasn't even thinking honestly and I didn't mean to hurt you again, I just – "

Jean held up his hand as the other carefully rubbed the area on his torso.

"It's fine, Sasha."

She nodded.

"You can come with me," gods he was going to regret this, he was going to regret this well, he could almost see the look in Rivaille's face as he walked into the fucking building with Sasha trailing behind him, but right now he honestly couldn't be bothered.

The look on her face shifted instantly – it was night to day – and it looked as if she wanted to hug him one more time, but held back instead.

"Really?" her eyes glittered.

"Yes, fucking really, now go get changed," Jean motioned back to where her place rested, some ten or twenty feet behind him, "I'm going to have a cigarette and wait here. Be quick, 'kay?"

Before he could blink she was off in a flash, sprinting back towards her home.

x

Though it took longer than Jean would have liked, within thirty minutes or so the girl had walked back to where she had left him, changed into a new set of clothes – high-waisted denim shorts, a yellow tank-top tucked into them, and her hair in a high pony tail bobbing behind her as she ran towards him.

"So where exactly is it we're going?" Sasha prodded as she caught her breath, clutching her sides with her hands.

Jean took a drag off of his second cigarette and motioned for her to follow him as they began walking back down the same sidewalk they had just come from. Now that it was broad daylight, Jean could easily note the area they were in – it was a rather suburban part of the city, houses dotting the sides of the roads, convenience stores, small boutiques, dry cleaners…that kind of crap. Very standard residential area – it would take them about ten blocks or so to get to Rivaille's and then Jean would have to apologize profusely, probably get stuck cleaning the fucking bathroom…ugh. No clue what Rivaille was going to say about Sasha, but to be honest Jean couldn't be arsed about that at the moment.

"Work," he exhaled, smoke curling around him like a blanket. Damn, he should have had a cigarette when he first woke up – shit was a miracle. Literally nothing, Jean mused, beat the first few cigarettes of the day.

"Where is it you work?" Sasha, surprisingly, was quite chipper in comparison to her earlier outburst.

"Well," Jean paused, taking another puff before flicking the butt onto the floor (away from Sasha, of course), "it's not technically work I s'pose…"

"So…"

"Because I get paid. Sorta." Jean answered her question before she could ask it, knowing full well what was going to spill from her mouth already.

When she was finally silent, Jean turned to look back down at her.

"Hey, you all right?" He elbowed the girl lightly, brushing his arm against hers, "y'know, I really didn't mean what I said back there…I'm sorry. It wasn't nice at all and I really owe ya an apology…"

"It's okay!" Sasha smiled back up at him reassuringly, "it's not that at all – it's just that, well – "

A loud rumbling noise gurgled to life and Sasha's entire face flamed bright, bright red.

Jean blinked.

"Was that…your stomach?" he motioned towards the girls mid-section.

"…No."

Another gurgle, this one easily louder than the first, and much longer.

"Sasha, are you hungry?"

"No! Now keep walking!"

"Do you want to stop somewhere for anything?"

"No! Keep walking! You're going to be late for work!"

"If you're hungry we can grab a bagel or some shit, it won't be a huge deal – "

"No!" Sasha stormed ahead of him, quickening her pace, "I said it's fine! Come on, let's go!"

x

They ended up in a café.

It wasn't anything special – old posters and subway train maps held together in wooden frames littered the walls, paint was peeling off in select corners, and a large case of pastries sat next to the cash register.

Come to think of it, Jean decided, he really didn't mind missing the first part of work today. Hell, if he was going to be in trouble, he might as well push his limits to their boundaries. He was already going to be on fucking bathroom duty, might as well just accept it and get some food in his system beforehand. Not like walking in thirty minutes late as opposed to ten minutes late was going to change anything.

However, there was a slight inconvenience – other than Sasha's hovering presence and his aching muscles – which Jean hadn't planned for. Unfortunately, to add the cherry on top, it also wasn't until it was their turn to order that Jean realized his current predicament…the young man didn't have any money…at all. Fortunately his pack of cigarettes (almost empty), his zippo (also almost empty), and a crumpled receipt note from buying his pack of cigarettes the previous day, had all survived the shit show last night, but apparently his wallet had not.

Those goddamn shit-eating little fuck boys…

"It's okay, " Sasha dug into her short's pocket, pulling out a few folded and crumpled ten-dollar notes, "I have money – don't worry."

It was official. Jean was the worst fucking person on this planet, it was going to be engraved on his tombstone, illuminated in the night sky by constellations, fucking ridiculous piece of shit –

"Jean?" Sasha held out a paper bag towards him, "earth to Jean, your bagel?" rustling the bag, Jean snatched it out of her grasp and picked his cup of coffee up from the café counter.

"Let's go sit outside, I need another cigarette."

x

As they settled into a table just outside of the café's window, Sasha began her prompting once again.

"So when's your birthday?" the girl wasted no time in smearing cream cheese on her bagel and shoving a large portion of it into her mouth after she asked.

"April 7th. Just turned 20 a month ago," this time, he decided, he was going to let her poke and prod. What harm could this possibly cause?

"Oh!" Sasha's eyes brightened, "you're an Aries! Now it all makes sense." She smiled at her newfound discovery, taking another generous bite from her bagel half.

Jean's face drooped.

"C'mon, you can't really believe in that crap, can you?"

Sasha nodded exuberantly, swallowing her bite and taking a sip from her lemonade.

"Yep! Sure do!" she placed her bagel half back down onto a napkin, "I'll be 19 in a couple months – mine is July 26th. I'm a Leo – that explains why we get along so well."

"Why d'you say that?" Jean took a bite from his own bagel, humoring the girl for a moment.

"Well, we're both fire signs," Sasha swiped some cream cheese off the top of her bagel, sucking it off her finger thoughtfully, "while we both have a fiery temper – you especially – we're destined to be good friends. Fire signs get along best with other fire signs. That's just how the western zodiac works."

"Huh," Jean took a long sip from his black coffee, "fair enough. I know shit about astronomy – "

"Astrology."

"Whatever. I know shit about astrology."

"Okay, well, your turn." Sasha picked her bagel up again, biting deeper and smearing the cream cheese across the tip of her nose.

"My turn what?!" Jean grabbed his napkin, leaning forward and swiping it across Sasha's face before the girl could protest. "You had cream cheese on your nose. You're a pretty messy eater, you brat."

Sasha pouted.

"Your TURN to ask ME a question," Sasha rubbed her nose with her own napkin, "and don't call me brat!"

Frowning, Jean took another sip from his coffee.

"All right, _brat_," he tapped his chin thoughtfully, ignoring Sasha as she huffed curses at him under her breath, "what do you do for a living?"

"I'm at school. Nursing school, if you want specifics."

"And you live alone?"

"Well, I did live with my dad for a while…"

"Where's he?"

"I don't know. Somewhere. He stops by every once in a while."

"And your mom?"

"She died when I was ten."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Silence hung heavy in the air after their volley. Jean sipped slowly on his coffee still as Sasha finished eating her bagel, picking at the last remains on her napkin, her appetite clearly stalled.

"I haven't seen my mom in almost five years," Jean murmured, placing his coffee cup down. "My dad was never really 'in' the picture, but my mom was always there. I dunno what I would have done without her, really – but after I turned 16, she really didn't need an extra mouth to feed, so I left."

Sasha had pulled up her legs onto the chair she was sitting on, and wrapped her arms around them, staring up at the sky through the slits of the café's tattered awnings.

"Do you miss her?"

"Lots."

"Same."

Patrons of the café came and went. Someone on a bicycle rode by, a breeze blew through, and in the distance somewhere a car horn blared against the baking summer sun, but the air around Jean and Sasha still hung thick and viscous full of the words they had spoken.

"So, tell me more about these Zodiac signs." Jean quirked his lip up as soon as he said the words, his smile only growing wider as Sasha's head flipped back down to lock eyes with him, her own grin mirroring his.

"Well, you're the ram, and the ram is of course kind of a massively stubborn piece of shit…"

"Seems fitting," the young man let out a bark of laughter, "go on."

As she prattled on, the sun grew higher in the air, and the breeze began to still. More pedestrians walked by, more horns blared, and the worst part was, if Jean was being honest with himself – and he was – he wasn't going to make it into work today. Whatever, Rivaille be damned, he'd be cleaning toilets for the next two months, who gave a rat's ass. Jean had already made up his mind, decided the moment he saw this stupid girl smile, that he wasn't leaving from this dumb, trashy café until she did, and even then he sort of felt like following her.

Maybe sometimes, he mused as Sasha began to ask him if he was even listening to her, having some company wasn't such a bad thing after all.

x

**Notes**:

Awww wow, that was kind of a bit too sappy at the end, even for me, but man I loved it. I had to put it. I REGRET NOTHING.

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone who has been following me for the past, oh, I don't know, year or so. I know I went through a lot of shit and so many of you were there for me – sending me messages, asking if I was okay, reviewing my stories and passing them along. You're all honestly amazing and I really would not be sitting here writing if it weren't for you. I know I flake out a lot with my stories, but it's only because I really have been going through some rough times, and I appreciate your kind words and patience more than you'll ever know!

So, thank-you all again! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!

If you do like this story, please read and review! I hope I can continue it, because I really enjoy writing the direction of these two particular AU JeanSasha fics. ^o^

xx


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